Woman convicted of acid attack on in-laws

A local court convicted a 25-year-old woman who was charged with trying to kill her mother-in-law and sister-in-law by throwing acid on them of attempted murder. It was the victim's statements that eventually nailed the case.

The defendant, Tinku, stood motionless, trying to comprehend the full import of the verdict, when additional district & sessions judge Anshu Shukla, presiding over the special court for crime against women, pronounced her "guilty." Sentencing has been set for July 21.

Tinku, who hails from Jagadhri in Haryana, was booked by the police on April 19, 2013 after her sister-in-law, Usha, 25, and mother-in-law, Shanti, 50, alleged the former threw acid used for cleaning toilets on them following a heated argument at her Sector 25 home, where she lived with her husband and mother-in-law. All the three women sustained burns and were taken to the Government Multispeciality Hospital in Sector 16 for treatment. While Usha suffered 70% burn injuries, Shanti sustained 30% burns with Tinku suffering 10% burn injuries.

Recounting the sequence of events, Usha told the court: "On April 19, my husband and I went to my mother's place to try to resolve a dispute between Tinku and my brother. An argument started and Tinku threw acid on us".

"Tinku was falsely implicated and we'll appeal against the court's ruling. The police did not probe the case properly but booked her on the basis of the statements of her in-laws with whom she had strained relations. From the beginning, the police were biased in their investigations. Even the investigating officer admitted he had not verified the allegations and the case was filed on the basis of the victims' statements," said advocate Munish Dewan. During pendency of the trial, Shanti died but not due to acid burns

Convict claims self-defenceInsisting she was falsely implicated, Tinku said: "Failure to conceive a child even 12 years after getting married had led to a strained relationship with my husband, Raju. They (my in-laws) wanted to kill me and I had only tried to save myself when they were injured in the incident."

Tinku, who had gone back to her parents' home, had filed a case of harassment for dowry against her husband and in-laws. A few days before the incident she had returned to her husband to give their marriage a second chance. "They (in-laws beat me up on April 19 and tried to pour acid on me. I told the police about this but they ignored my complaint."

WHAT CONVICT FACESTinku faces minimum imprisonment of 10 years that may extend to life-term. She has been convicted under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code.